Can Oommen Chandy create history in coming polls? (Comment)

In a state which religiously dumps the ruling party in every election, the Congress may well end up creating history in Kerala.

If — and it is not a small if — that happens, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will give the Congress, now more or less in the dumps nationally, a lot to cheer about.

With assembly elections a little over a month away, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) dismisses the possibility with contempt. Surprisingly, many in the Congress feel the impossible can become possible in May.

Chandy’s confidence stems from the fact that after he led the Congress to a slender two-seat majority in the 140-member Kerala assembly in 2011, few gave his government a life of more than six months.

But despite a plethora of scams and allegations that have hit hard the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), Chandy became the second chief minister from Congress to complete a full five-year term.

Chandy, however, knows that the Congress suffers from factions. His consolation is the situation is no different in the CPI-M, whose two top leaders – Achutanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan – have little love for each other.

But while Chandy is upbeat, the CPI-M is supremely confident that history will repeat in Kerala, which incidentally holds the record of electing the world’s first Communist government through ballot in 1957.

Marxist leaders claim that people are fed up with the Chandy regime, which they say has worked more for business houses and individuals under the guise of development.

At the same time, CPI-M’s Vijayan has warned the Left to shed complacency and work hard for a victory.

A statement of that kind during election season in Kerala is unusual. To diehard Congress supporters, it is a welcome sign.